Little Soldier Boy
by Anatomic
Summary: Time Travel, AU. Cloud is allowed back in time and sets out to change what he can - then get the hell out of limelights of the past, however, when his actions lead to orphaning a child paradox of himself, Strife suddenly finds himself a single, poor father struggling to rewrite the books of the past whilst haphazardly raising a kid of his own.
1. Prologue

**Note: **This is set after Advent Children.

**Warning:** GenERIC, Time Travel, Cloud centric, some swears. That's about it, really.

**Summary:**"Now leave, Cloud Strife. Yesterday may have perished, but play your cards right and tomorrow will belong to you." Cloud is allowed back in time when the Goddess, Minerva, takes pity upon his desperation.

**/.-I-.\**

Little Soldier Boy

**\.-I-./**

_Regret._

_"It is better to have love__d and__ lost, than to have never loved at all." __get yo quotes right geez luxia_

Cloud swore bitterly against the quote, closing his eyes in agony. Loved and lost. He wished he'd never felt such an all-consuming emotion. For all the definitions of love, platonic was the most valued form of it he had received, and given. His mother, although memories faded, Aerith… _Zack_. They were, and still are, the most important people to him, the biggest impacts on his life. He loved them, _Yet_, he thought in resignation,_ it seems Fate had other ideas_. Many. Other. Ideas.

He glanced at the fallen body of Sephiroth and surveyed his former hero's form. Blood, dried or still seeping from wounded flesh, pooled around the man's tall, lithe frame.

Cloud struggled for air as pain lanced through his side – alive, but faring little better. He coughed out blood, chest heaving, and leaned heavily against a stable pole of the Core Reactor.

Hot, shameless tears dripped down from his eyes to cheeks, even while his face set in a cold mask of stone. Was this the end, the final battle, the victory at the end of the _game_ that was his life?

How _pathetic_. Spite welled up within him as he recalled Zack's death for the umpteenth time. The skin around his eyes was already red and puffy and more tears fell at the memory of his best friend, his sacrifice.

Teeth clenched, Cloud slowly slid down the cool, smooth surface of metal - the blood from his chest wound smearing, _tarnishing_ the support beam as he went down. He curled up, his knees hugging his chest and his hands combing through his hair, too distraught to care about his throbbing wounds.

Rebellious thoughts and dangerous emotions danced once more within his mind, body and soul, bending him to their will. _No,_ he thought, still staring with empty blue eyes - eyes that were once brimming with mirth and life - at Sephiroth's immobile body.

It seemed they were just pieces in the Planet's greatest game. They were set on the path of heroism, the strongest, protectors of the Planet, revered by all and destroying evil along the way... with the precious ones they treasured so much.

Instead, they destroyed each other.

_It wasn't worth it in the end. Or the beginning._

Cloud tore his eyes away, beginning to tremble, and occasionally a sob broke out. He combed through his hair - a futile attempt at distraction.

_The world wasn't worth it. Wasn't ever._

Zack never had to die. Not for a useless piece of shit like him. Not for anyone, not even for the _world_. He was better than they all deserved, and so was Aerith.

Unable to think any more coherent thoughts, Cloud's vision blurred as the green wisps at the edges of his vision melted into complete darkness.

**\.-I-./**

It had been a year since Sephiroth's defeat and his throne of heroism, yet Cloud's body and mind hadn't moved on from those beautiful years spent with Zack and Aerith, those moments which seemed all too brief within Cloud's Mako-charged blue eyes.

After the fight, Cloud had become even more reclusive. At first it didn't garner the attention or worry of his acquaintances but as time passed their furrowed brows and furtive, worried glances became more frequent and more obvious in Cloud's presence.

It wasn't as if he is taking their company for granted, just that it seemed like a sad, hollow imitation of what he'd had before. His whole being felt tired, his days blurring into a recurring series of events, hacking-and-slashing at monsters – sometimes humans too – as a last-ditch attempt to coax some form of emotion from the rapidly widening cavity in his chest.

When Tifa or any of the others voiced their concerns, Cloud just gave a small, polite smile and a shake of his head before walking off. But time marched on, the habit faded and in the sparse moments when he had to deal with people or _socialize _(which he_didn't_ do), Cloud just opted to ignore them altogether. The blonde wondered if he should have felt even the slightest sliver of guilt for doing so. He didn't.

This behaviour, unfortunately, made the people even more worried – the opposite of what Cloud had wanted, although it was to be expected. Vincent in particular never actually _talked_ to Cloud of his reclusive behaviour but Cloud noticed the heavy stares that he received from the crimson-eyed man all the same. For those disruptions Vincent was soon deemed to be Cloud's favourite person. By which he meant most tolerable.

Cloud breathed evenly as he leant to the right, placing his face in the palm of his hand and directing a longing gaze outside the window. Heavily lidded eyes observed the vast, blue sky and puffy white clouds.

Or at least, that was what an observer would deduct, if they chose to idly observe the blond man seated by a slightly tarnished window. Upon more informed inspection, however, one might notice the unfocused glaze of his pupils – black holes resting on nothing tangible but still revealing an intensity that might unnerve a lesser person.

For a man like Vincent – enhanced to the level of SOLDIER – the image was absorbed in an instant. Glancing at the wistful expression on his comrade's sun-bathed face, Vincent could only presume that Cloud was yet again fantasizing. The subject of Strife's daydreams, however, was a different matter altogether. The gunman could no doubt take an educated guess.

As Cloud reached within his shirt to fiddle with his left arm – most likely with the pink ribbon they'd all donned long ago – the accuracy of Vincent's guess jumped from 76% to 100%. It wasn't a big secret, that Cloud was traversing the world, leaving behind Midgar with a bitter taste in his mouth.

Though the travelling and fuel taken wasn't cheap, Cloud made ends meet by accepting odd jobs here and there, and counting the gil he had made beforehand. Even if he had had to pull some favours with Cid, if only because Fenrir couldn't carry him across oceans. After that obstacle had been conquered, Cloud kept to himself with Fenrir and First Tsurugi in tow.

As he crossed mountains, woods, villages… the planet, Cloud allowed himself to be consumed by hallucinations of the past and present, all while suffering from sporadic seizures. Those he didn't welcome in the _least._ He allowed himself to be consumed by the memories, and guilt; wallowing in his self-loathing stemming from the deaths of the two most precious people in his life - Zack and Aerith. Fenrir's constant presence was not a great help.

Apparently deciding that the current amount of Cloud-watching would suffice for the day, Vincent glided out of the shady bar, leaving Cloud once again at the mercy of his thoughts. When he slipped out of the door, the only indication Cloud gave of knowing Vincent's presence was a slight deflation of the spiky-blonde's shoulders and a soft, almost imperceptible sigh.

Even if Cloud did deem Vincent as tolerable, the blonde was prone to becoming twitchy and uncomfortable under anyone's eyes. Vincent's oppressive stares gave him goose bumps and shivers. Some would say that Cloud Strife was overreacting, but what they forgot was the number of times that same reflex of overreaction had saved his hide.

**\.-I-./**

Swallowing and mentally tracing the path the saliva took down his throat, Cloud walked over to the barman and placed two hands on the counter.

Noticing a customer, the chubby man abruptly shuffled over, continuing to attempt to clean the glass in his hands with what was clearly a less-than-sanitary cloth. Quite counterproductive, Cloud absently noted.

"How can I help ye?" The barman asked gruffly.

It took half a second for Cloud to tear his disdainful gaze away from the glass. Even if his body was swimming with as much mako as blood, he didn't disregard his health as one might an unimportant childhood toy. Casually meeting the bartender's eyes, blue eyes pierced brown and Cloud cleared his throat again before shifting his hand through his pocket, withdrawing a few gil and placing them in a heap on the counter.

Cloud mentally noted the barman's unexpected ease at the presence of First Tsurugi strapped upon his back. _Must have had met a lot of warriors or mercenarie_s, he thought to himself.

"The strongest you have, please." He muttered, and the skin around his left eye twitched slightly when the barman all but snorted at his decorum. Nevertheless, he proceeded to swipe the silver gil into the counter and head off to the back of the bar.

Waiting patiently for the bartender to return, Cloud drummed his fingers against the counter in no particular rhythm, humming along to a tune unfathomable to any but those privy to his thoughts. When the drinks were placed in front of him he nodded in silent thanks, immediately reaching for the beverage and chugging it as if it were nothing more than water.

He was caught off-guard by the unusually high alcohol content apparently swimming in his mug. Humming in appreciation, Cloud gently placed the finished glass on the counter and proceeding to his second. Ever since the mako settled in his body, Cloud had found it impossible to be in any state other than lucid. And in moments of depression, lucid had become the state the blond hated the most.

Fourth. Fifth. Sixth. He drank his way through whatever-the-hell-number of gil he had slapped onto the counter. He didn't know if he should be worried or impressed when he felt slightly sluggish after all those drinks. Appreciating the pleasantly oblivious sensation blooming in his stomach and contemplating the filled-to-the-brim mug in his hand, Cloud's mind raged a civil war against itself - to drink or not to drink.

He opted for the latter option when the mug missed his mouth - spilling over and inside his sweater-vest. Grunting in annoyance more than anything, Cloud scowled and attempted to at least relieve himself of the uncomfortable way his top now clung to his torso. When his mind suggested something along the lines of Fire Materia usage, Cloud put the mug down.

It was definitely time to get the hell back to...wherever he was supposed to get back to. Without a word, the blond stood up, pushed the door open in a clumsy fashion, and walked outside of the bar without so much as a backward glance.

Cloud stumbled through the small village of Gongaga with his sword on his back and Fenrir in tow, came across the nearest worn-looking house he could find, knocked on the door - wished for the best - and then promptly collapsed face first onto the ground at the front of the house.

He groaned in pain and exasperation before attempting to push himself up. His arms trembled under his weight. "Well, shit," He muttered to himself before letting his face rest on the the rough patch of ground once more.

\.-I-./

Cloud spluttered indignantly in shock and his eyes snapped open as he felt ice cold water being dumped on his face. Gasping and breathless after the shock had worn off, Cloud directed his fiercest glare at the bored-looking house owner. Sitting up, Cloud attempted to squeeze the water from his hair and shirt. Though undoubtedly slightly refreshed, he was still drunk.

"The hell was that for!" He exclaimed, glaring at the pyjama-clad, ordinary looking male. Who for all he was worth didn't look intimidated in the least at Cloud's fairly intimidating attire.

The man snorted. "I should be asking why the fuck you're here out the front of my shop, drunkard." He sneered, looking down at Cloud as a man would to a pile of shit.

Any response Cloud had vanished in an instant. Brows furrowed in confusion. "...Shop?".

The man must have heard - he rolled his eyes and pointed to a not-so-inconspicuous sign hanging over the door, reading 'Tom's Accessories and Other Wares'.

"Uh, _yeah_. I waited for what, like, half an hour just waiting for you to get off your drunk ass and get out - but you didn't." The man - Tom, apparently - waved his hand noncommittally at the yellow bucket sitting beside the doorway.

Almost zoning out, Cloud shook his head and shivered. The night's cold temperature was getting to him, only worsened by the fact that he was dripping wet, courtesy of the common-looking brunette standing right in front of him. Quickly forgetting most of the conversation, Cloud met the shop owner's eyes.

"I need a place to stay." He says to the shop owner, tone and face dead serious.

Another snort. "Well, I ain't gettin' you one." Tom turned around, ready to head back into the house. Then he paused, glancing back at the blonde. "And when I look out the window, you and that bike of yours better be _long_ gone."

Just as Tom was about to leave, Cloud rushed at him with inhuman speed, clutching at the back of the man's night clothing. The man turned out, face set in shock and frustration. Cloud was speaking before the man could open his mouth. "I'll pay you!"

Frustration turned to suspicion and contemplation on the man's features. Tom turned around, facing Cloud in full once again.

"Five thousand gil."

For a moment Cloud was speechless, opening and closing his mouth. "Five thousand - FIVE THOUSAND GIL? Th-that's ridiculous!" He waved his arms around for added emphasis.

The brunette scowled. "Look, kid. You either pay me the five thousand gil, or buy something from my shop. If none of that's to your fancy, then get the hell out."

Growling low and deep through his throat, Cloud relented.

"Fine. Show me your wares." He said, his tone flat and resigned.

Grinning slightly, the man waved Cloud inside. "That's the spirit."

**\.-I-./**

Leaning on his bike, now faraway from Gongaga, Cloud opened a compartment next to the head of Fenrir, revealing several materia - most of which had been mastered. Reaching out and grabbing a glowing light-blue orb with white wisps whirling inside, Cloud calmly observed the Time Materia that he had purchased from the Accessory Shop last night. Wincing at a sharp pain inside his head, Cloud, not for the first time, regretted drinking the alcohol.

Twirling the materia around and between his fingers, Cloud stiffened as a traitorous thought made its way into his consciousness. _No_, he thought to discourage himself, _time travel was impossible. Even if this is a time materia, it only affects those of battle and in no shape or form would take me back, __no matter how misleading the name and materia seemed__._And yet...the coal, a flicker of hope ignited into a small flame as the more illogical part of his mind joined the fray. _Ah, Cloud,_ it whispered,_but you wouldn't know unless you've tried, mmmm_? Cloud's narrowed eyes rounded on the pulsing materia in his right hand.

_Tempting._

The words and thoughts of his mind brought up and about a rush of memories from the past and present. Cloud gasped as his knees buckled under. Materia still clutched between trembling fingers._It wouldn't hurt to try_, he reasoned to himself. Unless it killed him, of course. But even if it did, he doubt he would have regretted the decision - there weren't anything to live for, now that Gaia is safe, with Jenova out of her system, and if anything did happen, he knew that Tifa and her party would definitely get into action.

Closing his eyes and trapping the Time materia in both of his hands, Cloud clasped them around the orb and attempted with every fibre of his body to get back to the past.

About a second later, everything suddenly felt wrong – so wrong. The power required for Cloud's set goal started draining every sap of power he had from his body, willing the necessary power until he was bled dry. Suddenly regretting his decision of a slow and painful death, Cloud desperately tried to cancel the order and flow of the materia, however when that was unsuccessful, the blond braced himself for death.

Although instead of whirling darkness, the ex-SOLDIER was met with blinding light.

**\.-I-./**

_A lonely cave, glowing a faint-dark-teal. Waters dripped and flowed along with the pools of the lifestream. Sharp, glowing crystals formed. There were evidence of the growth of nature by the appearances of dead, hollow trees. _

_Standing in the middle of what looked like dead-waste was a beautiful woman, donning white and gold armour along with what looked like blue silk._

_Her stance along with her bow-like weapon in one hand and a sabre-like staff in the other, painted a majestic figure. She had sharp, hazel eyes, pale skin and long, flowing strands of blond hair. Although in all her fairness and integrity, she looked oddly broken...and out of place. Even with the energetic colours of white, blue and gold, with a second glance, her hair looked greying and her eyes deathly hollow. When her unfocused eyes zeroed in on Cloud, he couldn't help but gasp at the ancient pain and suffering that conveyed from her eyes to his ._

_It was all he could do to keep from collapsing when she strode towards him, as graceful as anything and everything. He stood stock still in her approach yet when she still kept hold of her weapons, his fingers couldn't help but twitch towards First Tsurugi in comfort, but he doubted it would have done him any good. Looking at the wings beside her helm and the white, flowing cape, Cloud could only guess who he thought she was._

_"Minerva," He whispered in wonder, and by the small smile elicited from her face, Cloud would say he had guessed correctly._

_Seeing that she wasn't about to talk any time soon, Cloud decided to start the conversation with a few questions of his own._

_"Why am I here? For what reason?" He asked, confused, overwhelmed and frightened. _

_The Goddess - Minerva - ignored him in favour of smiling once again, cocking her head to the side before holding up her bow and shooting a blast of gold right at him._

_Eyes widening in surprise, Cloud barely managed to get his feet and legs functioning to dodge the sudden attack. As he fell down a few metres from the impact, Cloud propped himself up on his elbows and stared accusingly at the Goddess._

_"What the hell?" He growled and heaved First Tsurugi as he stood up on the slippery surface, but Minerva gave him no room for ponderings as another shot of light blasted towards him._

_Goddess and Gaia be damned, no one gets away from attacking him out of the blue unharmed. Just because his memories weren't intact doesn't mean his survival instincts weren't. He did not care about her gender – a mentality forgotten a long time ago._

_Closing in on the Goddess, Cloud leaped up into the air before bringing his sword crashing down upon Minerva, though unfortunately was stopped mid-way by her off-hand weapon - the staff. Seeing the materia inside glow in activation, Cloud instantly backed off and propelled himself to his left, yet again dodging a blast of gold light. Deciding the need to fight at a melee range, Cloud split First Tsurugi into two pieces - the main blade and a short-hand-sword that wrapped around his fist that was the length of his arm span._

_Cloud twirled the shorter blade experimentally in his left hand before diving in on the Goddess once more. Due to her armour, Cloud couldn't rely on the soft nimble strokes the shorter blade provided, rather using his main-blade for powerful, deft strokes that came at a slower pace. The shorter counterpart of First Tsurugi was used more as a shield to block Minerva's strikes more than anything and although his weapon usage and choice in this battle slowed his attack speed significantly, it proved extremely efficient and effective against Minerva's attack style._

_Barely paying attention to time or anything else for that matter, Cloud immersed himself within the battle, dancing along with his blades. The only telling thing about how much time Minerva's fight was dragging on were the light sheen of sweat around Cloud's healthily muscled body and how his pants and sweater-vest clung to his skin. Cloud lithely dodged another beam of light, not bothering to use any materia in his current situation. He's exhausted and Minerva seems to know that, and he couldn't afford to use any more energy than what was absolutely necessary._

_Her arrogant smile faltered when a small crack resounded on the base of her armour. The bull-like horns cracked even more and with one, final goose-bump ensuing creak, the horns fell to the floor with heavy thuds. Cloud sneaked a glance at Minerva, expecting to face the wrath of a thousand suns. Instead he's greeted with a small smirk as she lowered her weapon and inspected her chest plate._

_"It seems as though my child's all grown up," Minerva states in an almost cooing fashion._

_Cloud, still clutching at his swords, stopped himself from voicing a negative because TECHNICALLY he was her child. Along with everything else that coexisted in life currently. He stiffened when she started pacing, however the Goddess made no move to attack._

_"I understand that you wish to go back to the past - your abysmal attempt with a time materia being enough evidence, whilst your thoughts swim around the subject like beasts would to bait," She began, "I had thought you were weak, Cloud, and yet you defeated Jenova's cursed child. However even after that feat, I still considered you sub-par at best." She turned around to face him, piercing him with her eyes._

_"Today, you proved otherwise." Minerva pursed her lips, looking every bit of the human she was not. "Your wish is final and shall be granted, however in this binding, you must defeat Jenova - at all costs. Then you may do what your soul ached to do ever since they were perished from your life."_

_Suddenly, attempts at movement Cloud had made were immediately restricted by gold threads that bound him. Cloud felt heavy vertigo and his vision blurred along with the world. Swallowing in attempt to force the bile out of his throat, Cloud cursed himself for having such severe motion sickness._

_His eyes slammed shut and the last sound that met his ears before the sudden light were the parting words from the Goddess;_

_"Now leave, Cloud Strife. Yesterday may have perished, but play your cards right and tomorrow will belong to you."_

**\.-I-./**

When the pull and vertigo decreased and then stopped outright and Cloud had felt solid, hard ground beneath him, he curled up in foetal position in hopes of getting rid of the lightheadedness his mind was under. Feeling slightly better, Cloud decided to shake his head slightly again - a test run.

He immediately regretted that decision however, as he instantly knelt upright, and hurled onto the grassy greens beneath him. Coughing and gagging at the smell his own puke, Cloud then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and then wiped the back of his hand onto a clean patch of grass some sizeable metres away from his puke. Glancing slowly around him, Cloud took in the forest and with a quick scan on the ground, Cloud located his prized sword. Sighing in heavy relief, Cloud quickly walked to his sword and gingerly picked it up, nose crinkling and he whipped the _dirt_ from his precious_baby_.

After a thorough attempt at cleaning First Tsurugi, Cloud hauled and stashed it upon his back before deciding to access the world map from his PHS. A brief flash and a moment of suspense later, a full and functioning PHS with a world map appeared on screen. Cloud grinned in victory before almost tripping in shock at his location. Mideel Area...? How did he get here from the ruins of Gongaga in the first place? He groaned in frustration and annoyance, must've been a _gift_ of the goddess, Cloud sneered, kicking an unsuspecting rock.

An hour's walk later, Cloud found himself skirting the edges of a small town named Banora. Shutting and storing his PHS back into his pant pocket, Cloud took in the beautiful scenery.

He certainly didn't expect himself to be suddenly kneeling and clutching his forehead as memories slammed into his consciousness - Zack's memories. He groaned as his senses were overwhelmed with illusions of the past. The not-memories –Zack's -reminds him of a _burning land, dead bodies and in that chaos, a lone soldier - Angeal, Zack called him - with white wings stood over his mother's corpse. Emotions of betrayal and hurt_ rushed through his body as Cloud tried to get himself together.

"Stop...it...Zack..." He gasped out, head still ringing.

As the memories abruptly shifted, Cloud picked himself up from the ground once more, dusting his knees and clothing clean. In situations like this, the least he could do was to look presentable. He felt a little shaken from the previous episode and looked at the peaceful town in a new light, feeling suddenly wary. His hallucinations and flashbacks had never been this severe. It was definite, then. Gaia wanted something done here, although _what_, he wasn't sure of.

When he braced himself and stepped inside the small village - even smaller than the size of Nibelheim's, the first thing Cloud saw was a middle-aged lady with worn hands pegging up ragged cloths onto thin wires. Upon further inspection, Cloud could see a rather large basket with plentiful of sheets and various other material. Pity and nostalgia bloomed inside his chest as the image before him reminded Cloud of his own childhood with his mother - filled with hardship. The middle-aged woman was dressed in a typical white, long-sleeved v-shirt that were pushed up to her arms and a long, ordinary brown skirt with a green scarf draping over her thin shoulders.

"Oh, what the hell," Cloud muttered himself, striding towards the lady, "wouldn't hurt to help."

As he reached her, he waited patiently for her to acknowledge his presence - it wouldn't do to startle her, not to mention rude. When she looked over to him and gave the blond a polite, tired smile - her forehead covered with brown locks of hair slicked with sweat, Cloud started speaking.

"May I help you with your laundry?" He asked in a polite tone. "I don't want pay," Cloud quickly added, "you...just, uh. Looked like ...um, working very hard. And I thought to help...yeah." He finished lamely, feeling uncomfortable as heat rushed towards his cheeks, and scratched the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

Her mouth opened slightly, surprised at the sudden offer.

She gave him another small smile, except this one was more friendly and relieved. "That would be welcomed, thanks."

Cloud nodded and immediately walked to pick up and place the cloths on the wires when he caught her sceptical look at First Tsurugi mounted on his back. He attempted to put her at ease by saying, "Oh, I'm just a passing mercenary." Although he doubted she believed him when all he received was a small, unsure nod. Cloud hoped that she couldn't recognize the sign of Mako in his unnaturally blue eyes.

After a few minutes of working in peaceful silence, the woman spoke up.

"My name is Gillian," she told him before adding, "Gillian Hewley."

Ignoring the feeling of familiarity and something the blond gained from hearing her name, he just nodded and replied, "Cloud." Not pausing whilst he worked through the clothes.

Amusement flashed through her face. "Just Cloud?"

The blond nodded once more. "For now," he said and offered no further explanation.

Their comfortable silence was instantly shattered minutes later by the loud laughter and yells of two boys. Cloud looked towards Gillian in questioning, eyebrows furrowed. The woman just sighed and smiled.

"Looks like Angeal's returned with his friend again. I swear he and Genesis gets up to no good when they're out," she supplied with an amused huff, her hands on her hips.

Cloud froze. Wait, what? Angeal? _Genesis_? Weren't they the sitting commanders next to _Sephiroth_? Thankfully, Ms. Gillian didn't notice the blonde's abrupt shift in behaviour, or when Cloud's hand twitched towards his blade at the mention of her son and his friend, nor the sharpening of his pupils; rivalling those of a cat's. Urging himself to relax, Cloud breathed in and out and managed to get his body and instincts to calm down some-what. When the two boys made themselves to the front yard, the blond found himself rooted to the spot.

There they stood, right in front of him, two would-be SOLDIERs, two of the three that were the strongest among the ranks. They looked young - around the age of twelve, Cloud guessed. Cloud growled quietly to himself as his right hand twitched once more, longing to reach the safety of his blade. They were just children, not enemies yet, though as hard as he tried, he couldn't quieten the yells of_'PROJECTS'_, _'THREATS'_ and '_WEAPONS'_, _'...degradation'_ throughout his mind.

In attempt to cover the more noticeable parts of his eyes, Cloud shifted his gaze downwards, though not enough to garner suspicion. Allowing blond locks to fall before his eyes, Cloud remained impassive as the two children surveyed his form. Decidedly ignoring them, Cloud went back to his chore and pegged the last of the materials onto the rack.

Nodding in Gillian's direction, Cloud indicated towards the rack.

"m' done," he told her as she bowed in thanks before waving and walking off stiffly, fully aware of the disconcerting gazes upon his back. _Gaia's will or not, I need to get the hell out of here_, Cloud thought to himself with gritted teeth.

**\.-I-./**

Cloud knew someone was following him and not just one, two. He was sure of it and yet he paid it no attention - the jungle was intricate enough, he'll be able to lose them easily enough through the large trees and long grass. Not to mention the abundance of monsters that hopped about. Most of them were little and of no consequence, but Cloud couldn't shake off the feeling of unease as he ventured deeper into the forest.

Freezing in place as faint skittering caught his ears, Cloud reached up to quietly retrieve his blade from his back, balancing it out in his hand, eyes darting around, picking up every little detail. Hearing an increasing whirring on his left, Cloud turned around just in time to use First Tsurugi as a block and then subsequently to fend off attacks from two Head Hunters.

His ears picked up gasps behind him; however he ignored it in favour of inspecting his current predicament as _more_ head hunters crawled out of their hiding places and around him, trapping him in their centre.

As his eyes darted around, he counted seven Head Hunters in total. Even with his training, Cloud still felt sceptical about facing them - although they were incapable of killing him, the Head Hunters certainly could (and would) apply some grievous wounds if he wasn't careful enough.

Thinking on his feet, Cloud quickly split his swords into small counterparts and then placing the two main swords criss-crossing each other upon his back. With two short-blades in both hands, Cloud wasted no time in throwing one with deadly accuracy towards a Head Hunter at his back. It hit the monster straight on the head, killing the beast instantly.

When the others, frenzied by the death of one of their kin, jumped to attack, Cloud threw three more of his swords - each towards a different enemy. Two hit however one unfortunately missed.

As Cloud and the four remaining Head Hunters leapt into the air, the blond man quickly saw an opening. Grabbing the main-blade from his back, Cloud slashed sideways, from left to right. Although any normal blow like that wouldn't have killed the foes, Cloud had used both hands and full power. This resulted in the blade running through the enemies like butter, and a sick sound of shattering exoskeleton filled the air as Cloud's blade cleaved the four enemies in half with one blow.

Not even winded, Cloud evaluated his surroundings yet again when the carcasses dissolved into green.

Hearing soft rustling behind him, Cloud could only guess who the stalkers were.

With First Tsurugi still firmly in his right hand, Cloud whirred around to face the white faces and wide-eyed expressions of two boys, looking like deer caught in head-lights.

"Now, pray tell," he hissed in annoyance, "Why did you follow me into the jungle?"

Unfortunately, his words seemed to have no effect as the red headed child - _Genesis_, he corrected himself - crowed in excitement.

"That...was amazing!" He all but yelled. Cloud winced at the loudness of young Genesis' voice to his Mako-enhanced ears. Ignoring Genesis' insistent questions;_"Are you a SOLDIER? Your eyes look like SOLDIER", "I don't know what's up with your blade, but it's so cool!", "I'm gonna become a SOLDIER one day!"-_ and Angeal's embarrassed silence, Cloud went over to pluck his blades from the ground, cleaning them with the hem of his cloak and then placing them back to their respectful places inside First Tsurugi.

Cloud took a moment to caress and marvel at his blade.

Then he turned towards his stalkers.

"Hey," he spoke gaining their attention and cutting Genesis' from his ramblings, "You guys hurt?"

Angeal shook his head however Genesis just frowned and tugged at his red T-shirt's left sleeve, revealing a nasty looking cut on his left shoulder. Cloud's brows furrowed in concern before he walked over, removed Cure from a slot in his sword and attempted to tend to the wound with a relatively low-levelled heal. He felt oddly relieved when he watched as the skin around the gash knitted itself full again with the wound nowhere to be seen.

Cloud nodded to Genesis in indicating that he was finished before commanding them to just go _home._

For a moment it looked like Genesis was about to argue against doing so, however Angeal, who seemed to be the level headed one of the group, obeyed before apologizing and dragging Genesis back along the path they had taken. Unfortunately or fortunately, Cloud didn't miss calculating look Angeal had sent him before the boys made their way back.

Cloud watched their retreating figures, even as they disappeared into the woods, for a full minute before relaxing his shoulders and turning around, ready to continue with his journey to the boats and then Midgar.

Just as he took his first step in the opposite direction, Cloud's ears picks up on a bone-chilling scream along with a disturbingly familiar roar in the exact direction where Cloud had watched Genesis and Angeal stalk off to.

Spewing obscenities and rushing at full speed, Cloud landed in rather large clearing and was brought to the sight of two incredibly scared looking would-be first classes facing Ultimate Weapon. As the dragon-like monster gave another bone-shattering roar once more, Angeal winced but stood his ground - holding onto a large branch as one would hold a sword meanwhile Genesis...Genesis just looked like he was going to pee in his pants, if he hadn't done so already.

As the monster whipped its tail towards the children, Cloud swore.

"Son of a _bitch._"

Those were Cloud's last words as he dove in front of Angeal and Genesis, sword in hand, ready to take the Guardian of Gaia to its waterbed.

**\.-I-./**

Dodging another swipe from Ultimate Weapon, Cloud immediately decided retreat was the best option. He pushed the two pieces of his blades together; First Tsurugi in its whole glory, before facing the monster's horn head on, blade against horn, one attempting to overbalance, the other to buy time.

"Angeal, Genesis," he ground out, "Get out of here NOW!"

_"...Ribbit."_

Cloud risked a glance backwards and froze. In place of the two boys that had followed him deep into the mountain's woods sat two almost identical yellow frogs. Mako-blue eyes widened. "No." He choked out under his breath, in self-denial more than anything.

'_How...?'_

Grunting and using his super strength to push Ultimate Weapon backwards and momentarily decapitating the beast with a heavy blow to its eyes, Cloud turned to the two frogs in full.

"Please," he began, as the beast attempted to orient itself, voice rising with every word in conjunction with his growing headache, "Please, tell me, in the name of Gaia ALL THAT IS HOLY, that YOU ARE JUST TWO, COMMON TOUCH ME FROGS, AND_NOT_ GENESIS AND ANGEAL."

_How_ could this have happened? As far as Cloud's knowledge of creatures and habitats go, it was virtually impossible for a Touch Me to be here of all places. Then again, with his luck...

Sighing, Cloud ignored the increasingly agitated Ribbitings from both frogs - obviously attempting to warn him of the return of Ultimate Weapon. Sharp, Mako improved senses heard sudden rush of wings.

"Way ahead of you." Cloud murmured, quickly grabbing the frogs before (hopefully) gently throwing them in a shallow pond beneath some foliage. Moving in the opposite direction, the blond attempted - and succeeded - to divert the attention of the Ultimate Weapon away from the boys-turned-Touch-Mes. Jumping from branch to branch, Cloud immediately took to the skies utilizing his materia to their maximum output.

A small smile of victory danced across his lips as Ultimate Weapon followed his suit, spreading its own monstrous wings, charging at Cloud head on with a roar promising pain and death.

_Now, to get into position_, Cloud thought to himself.

Twisting to the right, Cloud Narrowly dodged its Ultima Beam. Blue eyes cringed at sudden light, before settling just in time to block another basic attack of the Ultimate's tail. They faced each other - monster against weapon, metres apart. For a moment, it was absolute silence. With each party sizing the opponent up, Cloud's hands shook as he grasped First Tsurugi in front of his frame - as it happened, the scales and skin around the Ultimate were what seemed to be at least thirty centimetres thick.

It had taken a good chunk out of his strength to actually run the blade through and out of its flank.

Standing still in the air, Cloud eyed the Guardian of Gaia, unwilling to break the eye contact because the blond knew full well that as soon as he did so, his opponent will charge at him. Brows furrowing, Cloud concentrated on withdrawing the strength needed for his final attack whilst breathing in and out to keep the balance of power from overflowing.

Closing his eyes and reopening them in an instant, blue eyes glowed brighter than the stars as the ex-soldier prepared himself for his finishing move.

_Omnislash VI_

As he charged his very being with energy, Cloud tensed before separating First Tsurugi into its six counter parts and throwing them around the Ultimate Weapon. Right as the guardian reacted, he disappeared into wisps of blue and gold before barraging the beast with strikes too fast and too strong for the Ultimate Weapon to see or counter, using every single one of his blades to their fullest potential. Brutal strikes pierced the monster's heart and body as the glowing clones of Cloud darted around before fading into thin air.

With a final cry, the Ultimate Weapon fell gracelessly to the ground. Cloud followed its suit, accelerating to the ground albeit gracefully as his swords fell to the ground in a circle around him.

Hearing rushing footsteps, Cloud turned around to find a rather wet Angeal and Genesis running towards him - human again. However, before he could reprimand them for being _fucking idiots_, something of overwhelming power suddenly slammed into him, forcing him to his knees. He heard similar sounds and groans around him as he fell, but that matter quickly faded from mind as his vision suddenly seared from the bright light's sudden appearance in his eyes.

**\.-I-./**

_When his eyes fluttered open, the first thing he took in was his surroundings - a peculiar cavern surrounded by pools of liquid. Predicting that this was the work of the Goddess, he wasn't surprised when he saw her almost materialize in front of him, nor when her powerful hands wrapped themselves around his throat. In reality, Cloud expected nothing less, from what had happened. He did just kill a Guardian of Gaia, did he not? Although hostility to this degree, he did not predict._

_"You," she hissed, hazel eyes and words blazing with fury, "dare to kill a Guardian?!" Here she was in her full glory of white and gold armour, small wings flowing from her helm, cape bellowing behind her. Minerva was truly beautiful in her rage. However, though this counterpart of Minerva faired and looked far more well off from the gaunt-shell the Goddess becomes in the past's future, Cloud could still see the slight hollowness of her cheeks and the bags forming around her almond shaped eyes – telltale signs of Jenova already getting to her, Cloud's mind provided. _

_When he was thrown harshly against a cavern wall, Cloud gasped for precious air at the impact. _

_"I can explain!" He exclaimed as he saw Gaia herself advance upon him._

_"Then do so." Was her reply, dripping of barely restrained power. This time, she kept one hand around his throat, not that a hand of the Goddess wasn't enough to snap his head off, Cloud noted to himself dryly._

_Taking a moment to rest his aching throat, Cloud presented his excuses._

_"I had no purpose of fighting the Ultimate Weapon and because of so, I took careful measures to avoid it." '_

_Didn't even know it existed so close to a town, for that matter, He thought to himself. _

_ He spoke in low tones. "However, when it saw harm in Angeal and Genesis and attempted to attack them... Your weapon," He scowled, "by attacking my charges, had initiated the battle itself."_

_The hand around his throat loosened once more as the Goddess recoiled ever so slightly. Head bowed and looking at nothing in particular Minerva started speaking._

_"This wasn't part of the deal."_

_"No, it wasn't, but there was never a warning about not killing your Guardians."_

_Minerva's eyes glazed out once more, all mentions of the previous conversation forgotten. She seemed to be concentrating on another matter completely, even wincing slightly in pain from something Cloud couldn't see. _

_"Destroy Jenova." She says in barely more than a whisper._

_"Save Angeal and Genesis," Cloud retorted. Only the stiffening of her shoulders revealed her knowledge of the would-be degradation._

_"...Destroy...Jenova." She rasped again and in finality before disappearing from his view completely, leaving no room for discussion. Cloud only hoped that she had heard him in her state of desperation, and that she would keep the other end of the bargain._

**\.-I-./**

When he reawakened, Cloud watched as the two boys groan and pull themselves up. Eyes inspecting their bodies unabashedly for non-existent wounds, Cloud decided to walk them back to their homes, if just for safety's sake.

The stroll back was both surprisingly and suspiciously quiet, for whatever reason unknown.

Staring at the retreating figures of Angeal and Genesis, Cloud glared when they dared to look back. It was because of them that he had to take a taxing detour to Banora, although the gil he received from Genesis' family in gratitude were more than welcomed. His heart clenched in remembrance of Angeal and his mother. They were poor, hard working and reminded him painfully of his own past. Cloud scowled when Genesis came to mind again - he really disliked the kid, because as far as Cloud's opinion of Genesis goes, the red-head was the epitome of what one would call a brat. However he couldn't shake off the feeling - that he was bound to meet those two again, as enemies or allies, he couldn't tell.

Although Cloud knew that however much he disliked Genesis, the world would end before he let him fall from his broken wings, and that included Angeal as well. This time around, everything would be fine, Cloud promised himself.

This time around, Zack and Aerith won't suffer.

**\.-I-./**

Buying a dark cloak to cover up his buster-like sword and to provide warmth, he kept a low profile in Midgar before catching the ship to North Corel Area.

When he reached the lands, he bought a motorbike - that if compared to Fenrir, would equate to comparing a candle to a large-scale forest fire. Cloud used the map from his PHS to ensure that he was going the right way - back to his birthplace, Nibelheim. Avoiding civilization completely, Cloud climbed up the mountains, ignoring the cold and easily disposing off offending monsters.

Staring up at the old reactor, Cloud steeled himself for his inevitable confrontation against Jenova.

**/.-I-.\**

**Chapter 1 Complete.**

**AN:** I apologize for any errors

**About the story:** This story is one of many FFVII time travel fanfictions that I have in mind to write. I will definitely finish this story, as I already know what is going to happen and the ending is written out also. Little Soldier Boy will be around three to five chapters. However I can't make any promises that I won't procrastinate the whole way. In all honesty, this isn't the best time to publish for me as my holiday is coming to an end, and I will be immersed with grade 10 projects, assignments, tests and the like.


	2. SynthesisII

**AN: **I'M SORRY, I WAS SUPPOSED TO UPDATE SOONER! However there were designs that needed to be done (Steamstuck!) and this chapter got delayed. **As it turned out, this is going to be more / much more than three to five chapters.** Yeah. Also, the pagebreaks are finally working for me now! Since the previous chapter everything just glitched out, this is truly l33t.

This will most likely be GEN. I have no idea what pairing(s) to make of this story, if there be any at all. I do ship Zack/Aeris, so that would probably be the only pairing that would happen. You guys are free to suggest. Although the fact that I would take them into account does not equate to me putting the partners into action. The wackier the better, really, although I'm not very partial to bestiality. Heh. Necrophilia, although kinky, is out of the question.

**PS.** The pagebreak's before was Clare's symbol, if you didn't get it (which you most definitely didn't). I'm beginning to think that I have a fetish for weapons.

Thank you all for the support.

* * *

**Little Soldier Boy**

_He stumbled into faith and thought_  
_God, this is all there is?_

Chapter II

* * *

Cold winds arriving in bursts and flows whirled around Cloud as he made his way up the Nibel mountains, worn out boots trudging ankle deep in the glaring white snow. Normally, due to his Mako enhancements he wouldn't feel a thing, however it seemed as if the mountain peaks were particularly freezing that day. Paying barely a glance to the old, abandoned mansion, Cloud persisted on, First Tsurugi clasped tightly in his calloused right hand. There's no doubt that his incredibly hard grip around his sword's handle was going to leave marks on his palm.

Cloud couldn't even feel Jenova's presence yet, nor is he even more than halfway to the site, and yet his body was shaking in adrenaline and excitement. He could feel the energy and turmoil inside him; he could feel his too-blue eyes glowing eerily lit with his pupils slimming and growing into dark, dilated vertical slits surrounded by a pool of florescent teal. He knew that his eyes were wide, manic and glowing with Mako - possibly even rivalling Sephiroth's, when the bastard was alive.

Breathing evenly out of his nose, then mouth, he attempted to calm his raging heart beats as it felt as if his chest would explode. This was his moment. He needed to be prepared. Jenova would surely attempt to take over his senses and there was absolutely no guarantee that he would be able to repel her (its) advances. He also doubted that Gaia - under the pretence of a Goddess, he sneered - would help him in Jenova's execution, as he knew that the planet wanted as little to do with _it_ as possible, straying far away from her problems; a source of escapism and denial that kept her no-longer-sane mind running till this day.

Asking Vincent for help would be out of the question; although the man would surely agree to help kill Jenova after being fed vital information on Sephiroth, his whereabouts and the world at hand, Cloud doesn't feel one ounce of guilt at not trusting the monster the ex-Turk harboured within him. There was a high chance that soon after the parasite's demise, he would meet his own by Chaos' claws.

And Cloud didn't plan on dying so soon. Not now, not in the near future.

Long, blond lashes blinked away small flakes of snow that descended gracefully upon him. He was on the edge, his heightened senses picking up on every little detail; super enhanced sensors which almost never failed to overwhelm him with the wealth of information they delivered.

_Almost there._

Unable to contain his impatience nor excitement _(he needed to get this shit done, and fast), _Cloud focused his energy to his feet and legs, utilizing the muscles to spring step to step on the snow, doubling his movement up the mountain. Jumping in great leaps and flattening his feet, Cloud easily bounced off the snow at the momentary taction; when the snow hardens and in an instant before it collapses, he would already have been on his next step. With his conspicuous, spiky blond hair flailing around him whilst also being pushed back by the winds, Cloud relentlessly kept his high speed pace and before long, Cloud found himself freezing to a halt by the tips of the stairs at the Nibelheim reactor.

Old, locked up and forbidden memories whirled around his mind, intrusive thoughts and traumatic reminders attacking at the roots of his consciousness.

_Shit, shit shit! _

Trying to calm his nerves, Cloud gulped and with his right hand grasped firmly on his sword, he could see the slight tremors that carried from his body to the weapon.

_Fuck._

His heart never seemed so loud; it was as if its beat thrummed through his whole being, his blood pulsing to a beat unknown, a drumming in his ears that he couldn't rid if he had tried.

Swearing, he forced himself to jump flights of stairs, ignoring the disconcerting, illuminating glow of green that hummed throughout the reactor.

There was no turning back, not now.

Ignoring the security cameras, Cloud trudged on.

Growling low in his throat, Cloud's sight was greeted with a robotic, angelic figure when he reached the very base of the reactor. Knowing that it was a piece of shit guise, Cloud impatiently ripped and sliced his way through the mechanical figure labelled 'Jenova', uncaring for his extreme lack of finesse - metal spikes and sparks flying past him or even grazing at his flesh, drawing soft pink wounds upon his pale skin. When the entirety of the doppelganger was destroyed, he took small, shaky yet certain steps towards the real Jenova held within a tank at the farthest wall.

The way her eye glowed a disturbing read, the bubbles that appeared and disappeared within the tank and a rather horrifying grin on her face signalled her prediction of his arrival.

_'I guess you can't be an ancient alien parasite without being an all knowing ancient alien parasite'_, Cloud thought with disdain, face twisting into a grimace.

To be frank, it was highly possible that Jenova was aeons older than the planet herself.

He tread softly, preparing himself and yet when he arrived but a few metres from Jenova, her tank exploded into a million shards of glass. As the bigger pieces of construction swung towards him, Cloud grit his teeth into a snarl whilst whipping his sword in fast, almost elegant motions around him, creating a temporary dome of protection around his self.

Reopening his shielded eyes, Jenova was gone and in her place stood someone who should have been all but living; Sephiroth. The only clue that he wasn't the Sephiroth that Cloud knew, fought and killed were the slight flickers of form, giving away Jenova's deceit. Even though the attempt was half hearted at best, Cloud still felt a phantasm of cold, hard metal through his chest; a place where the blasted Masamune had nested in a number of times. And yet here he was, the one standing._ The lone victor_, he reminded himself.

Eyes hardening, Cloud wasted no time with words before fully charging on and at his enemy, sword at hand, scraping the ground behind him; creating warm sparks as he leapt towards his ultimate nemesis. He wasn't surprised to find that his sword's strike was parried easily, but as soon as metal clang against metal, Cloud twisted his sword to the right, splitting it in half just in time to block a furious onslaught of slices from ghost-Masamune. Without the weight of the main board, Cloud's speed rivalled Sephiroth's, which allowed him to parry the blows with his own, cancelling them out with his own concentrated power.

He allowed a hateful smirk as he watched Sephiroth's brows furrow in concentration and slight strain, obviously trying to figure the blond's sword style out, and to counter attack. It was one of these days where Cloud was thankful for his lack of training. Sure, on his journeys with Zack, he had received some pointers and minimally from the SOLDIER programme, but those were choppy at best. He had to learn himself what he knew now, in the midst of battle, where he picked up strategies and advice from mere observation and participation.

All in all, he was a fucking textbook nightmare.

And everyone of his moves were sporadic, yet calculated. That was why he was, and still is, one of the strongest warriors to date. That was why he is still alive. Although professionally approved skill sets were thought to be stronger and more effective within battle, Cloud preferred his own unorthodox way. No bias whatsoever. After all, in the end, natural killer instinct wins over textbook perfection.

Extracting a lone, thin sword from the main board, Cloud utilized its small, lithe form to its maximum potential. Decreasing its power by 50% in exchange for a 30% increase in attack speed, Cloud's left hand blurred to almost a standstill at just how fast the thin blade could amount to. Although it did not have enough strength to actually do anything detrimental to Sephiroth-Jenova-Clone, it sure as hell distracted it, enough so that when the main blade - First Tsurugi - came down upon _him, her, it,_ the blade slashed down, it drew a neon blue _bloodLiquiedthing._

_'That's right.'_

A breathless, shaky sigh escaped his lips, creating a puff of white once the warm breath made contact with the cold air.

_ No mere memory can defeat me, even if it was you, Sephiroth.'_

And with a feminine scream of rage, Sephiroth disappeared. Now Jenova shows herself, in a rather familiar and disgusting form.

"Jenova Synthesis," Cloud breathed, feeling his blood run cold. The grotesque form of what looked like a body of a woman fused with a pulsing bulb of flesh and veins. He knew that the weak point was behind and inside that shell. The closest thing to a heart that Jenova possessed; hidden behind deceivingly soft flesh with two flailing, muscled tentacles located at the frontal body's base.

As each of the three appendages on the two...tentacle-like...things rushed toward him, Cloud leapt back, just barely managing to escape their grasp. Swearing at the incredibly small and confining space he and the monster were currently situated in, Cloud grabbed the hilt of the first Tsurugi - still split to small sword and main board. Using the small sword to briefly decapitate the appendages behind him, with a firm and desperate twist of the hilt of First Tsurugi that was powered by several materia and his inhuman strength, he managed to create an opening hole to the cold above. The aftermath of his beam of concentrated power included a horrendous smell of burning, fizzing and smoke.

Not wasting time to contemplate his comforts or damage done, Cloud immediately jumped from level to level, taking full advantage of his pursuer's stupor. As Jenova regained her wits, the monstrous orb continued its chase for him, disregarding the buildings that bound her in place, or the too small hole that Cloud had created for himself. No, those artificial creations were easily destroyed by her will as she chased the Knight of Gaia into the lands above, ready to be the source his demise.

Although fear still grasped him by its unrelenting fingers when Cloud was met face to face with Jenova's true form, he couldn't help but feel a little pride at the difference of leaps and bounds - the comparison with himself this time, and himself in the past, when he had faced the very same Jenova. He was no longer inexperienced, his hands were bloody from the deaths of the innocents and the guilty, his face is ashen, and yet he has never felt more ...more..._satisfied_ with himself. He grew, both physically and mentally. He desperate, yes, however no longer weak. Insecure. _Reliant_.

Here he was, in all his twenty-third years of glory, facing against the greatest, and grudgingly the most terrifyingly beautiful monster on this planet...and he wasn't afraid. No, instead of shaking with fright, this time it was with excitement. He is alone, and he would defeat Jenova just so. No Tifa, no Nanaki. Just Himself.

And almost as if hearing his thoughts, Jenova somehow projects her words, a seductive, low baritone.

"So_ eager_ to please," came from her form, "when in the end, you are nothing but a _puppet_."

Unable to accumulate a suitable retort, Cloud just held his sword out, both hands clasped firmly on the hilt, sitting in his centre. Blue, feline eyes glowed under the night sky, glaring at the alien from behind blond bangs. With a wordless 'Guh', Cloud leapt from his place, travelling head on towards Jenova before sitting his blade within the snow and within an instant, flicked its wide frame up and taking bounds and splatters of snow with it, almost instantly rooting and momentarily blinding Jenova.

Predicting the frenzied tentacles of Synthesis, Cloud spun around with his blade; guarding his outer edge, his feet danced across the snow; creating a perfect circle of dirt amongst endless white. Once his flashy manoeuvre came to an end, Cloud gripped his sword with his right hand supporting the hilt on the bottom, before digging his blade into the snow and then onto the hard earth once again.

When Jenova saw an opportunity that he wanted her to see, and just as her appendages reached him, Cloud, with all of his strength, dragged the blade along the hardened earth and because of the energy garnered from sudden earth to air, the strike effortlessly dismembered the left piece of Jenova, effectively cutting a quarter of the protective armour from the monster.

It seemed as if slow, brutal strikes courtesy of Gaia's hard ground were Cloud's only way of penetrating her outer defence. It would be foolish to wish to target the feminine shell of a body in front, that was just a bait-and-trap waiting to happen. Cloud had no doubt in mind that the 'what appeared to be soft flesh' were just as hard as any part of Jenova - bar her heart, which of course was her lifeline and therefore the hardest to home.

Swinging his sword around, Cloud flung away remnants of snow from his weapon before leaping backwards onto a rather dry looking log.

Only an idiot would allow their weapon and equipment to get wet of all things. Not only was it detrimental to the material of lower-levelled weapons (something First Tsurugi would NEVER become), it also slowed down your movements and the ferociousness and usefulness of the weapon at hand.

Jenova, however, did not seem to understand such forces of nature or rather pure logic and common sense, as she she stood, uncaring, within the abundance of snow. Cloud could see from the light sheen and slippery glow of water upon the light of the moon covering Jenova's true form.

"Let's end this," Cloud muttered to himself more than anyone, although Jenova was sure to hear.

He needed to finish this whilst he still had the advantage; the pain Jenova was receiving from taking a blow like that would prevent her from attempting to control him through his cells f_or the time being. _

Although with the current battle at hand, ignoring his energy beam from below, he had resisted from using materia or limit breaks, and kept to normal sword play (cautious of Jenova's manipulations more than anything - the slightest surge in his cells could possibly lead to her control) he needed to end this fast, as he could feel the chemical rush dimming and his exhaustion taking his body, increasing ever so slightly, not to mention the strain of mako through his system. Once the rush was over, he would be exhausted to the bone.

Readying himself up, Cloud swung his blade experimentally to his right before rushing and connecting it to Jenova's armour. With a clang he loosened up its different pieces, before disappearing in wisps of blue with a lack of gold. He couldn't use his incomplete, wildcard Omnislash, not when he was this close to the end. As his beings split up and as each sword circled around Jenova, Cloud used massive, short bursts of power, striking Jenova multiple times with each blade, then disappearing in what looked like blue flames of pure energy, as a meteor would fall, igniting the night sky and illuminated by the moon.

With his hair playing wildly around his face, and before Jenova could react, Cloud completed each strike with quick succession. When he was finished, and as he was about to reach the ground, he was cut off by two, sharp objects penetrating his lower stomach. Grunting in pain and shock, all Cloud was to do was to stand there like a sitting duck as Jenova's tentacles pierced through him.

Then his being felt a burning pain, as if his whole body was being flayed with the power of the sun.

Wincing and coughing out blood, Cloud's gloved hands found their way to his stomach, wrapping around the antennae in a vain attempt at removing himself; anything to get away from the monster.

He didn't succeed. He was too weak, however as Jenova pulled him in, dimming blue eyes were greeted with a sight of an alien before its fall. Jenova faired much worse than he did, Cloud noted to his satisfaction. Her heart...her heart had been cut up to pieces, and what lies barely attached to her body were thin veins that looked as if they could've fallen apart at any second.

When objects piercing his abdomen twitched, Cloud closed his eyes and bit the inside of his cheeks, refusing to scream, however he couldn't help but let out a strangled choke as he slowly slid down to Jenova, still impaled and bleeding.

Dear, sweet, darling Gaia. In all honesty, he would have preferred being impaled by Masamune for all of eternity just to avoid this excruciating pain, and as her cells swept through him from his open wounds, venomously attacking and overriding his very own, Cloud's naked, desolate and all too-loud scream echoed through the night, woods and snow.

He felt his eyes drift to a close as unconsciousness threatened to overbear his mind and darkened spots overrode his vision before his eyelids slicked shut and his head drooped from the lack of support of his blackout.

* * *

As his mind played around in deep sleep, dancing around the edges of death, Cloud was rudely awakened by a rapid shaking and being ever so light a sleeper he was, blue eyes immediately snapped open in attention, ready to defend himself. Except...not really. Not in this condition, at least. Oh fuck, oh shit...his hands lowered to his stomach, palms circling the two holes situated within. The bleeding had stopped, however the wound wasn't closing, but then again, what did he expect? Not with the abundance of time he spent confined within Mako, not even the Jenova cells his body housed. It was not enough and it would never be. The only curiosity was why was he still alive?

Ears picking up on ragged, shallow breaths and a slow dragging sound from his bottom left, Cloud arched his neck weakly to see Jenova in its...feminine form. Not Synthesis, her true form, but the one form she kept when inside the tanks within Nibelheim's reactor, however with only the upper half of her body visible. As she dragged herself towards Cloud, and as Cloud helplessly watched the alien draw closer, Jenova's body's unnatural fluids left a trail of grime wherever the body had passed through

When she reached close enough that their noses almost touched, Jenova smiled bitterly, although she made no attempt to override his body; Cloud suspected that she was too weak to even live up to one of her many nicknames; a parasite.

"Now that your job is finished, you are expendable, _at most_, to the one you call Gaia." She jeered. Not rising to what seemed like bait, hell, not being physically able to rise to anything, Cloud just glared coldly at the slimy, mangled form situated next to him.

"See?" Her haunting, reverberated voice taunted; a mixture of both defeat and victory alive in her visible, crimson eye.

"Nothing but a puppet." She paused for a breathless laugh, or more accurately, wheeze. It would have been pathetically hilarious if he himself wasn't suffering under the reign of grievous wounds as well.

"But what a sweet, tainted, little_ specimen on strings_ you will be," she continued, before her vindictive smile grew as she repeated the words that Cloud had never wanted to rehear and her appendages; misshapen wings of hers, stabbed once more into his previous wounds as her inserted cells took over his system, bonding with his cells and then dimly lit blue eyes glowed and shone as bright as a star.

_I, too, have seen the past's future. My child, Sephiroth, had failed. _"_You_ will be my living legacy."

The last Cloud was able to hear and see through his fuzzy senses were the blurry figure beside him collapsing and dissolving into the snow, permanently staining the earth below...and the fires and screams of all those that inhabited the hometown where he grew and lived.

Paralysed and therefore unable to move, Cloud once again fell into darkness, uncaring of the chaos going on in the world of the living. He was too tired and too wasted. The physical exhaustion took him by storm and the sharp searing pain of Jenova's leftovers faded into dull throbs.

* * *

When he awoke, it was to the smell of burning. He absolutely hated the smell of smoke, especially as it flares up within his nostrils and travels to his eyes, making them red-shot, watery and itchy.

He reached up to scrub his eyes with his hands before freezing on the spot, mind numbing to a stop and all awareness of his surroundings were lost.

_'Idiot!'_ He reprimanded himself. Holy shit, okay. Calm down. Panic procedure initiate. First things first, he picked a fight with Jenova. He sort of succeeded. However, by doing so, he had also received two ginormous wounds that would surely have killed him, judging from the time he had spent unconscious. Blue eyes instantly flicked towards his stomach. In the place of two, even holes were healed, pink flesh; as smooth and scar free as ever. Blinking in surprise, Cloud supported his weight by his left elbow before he tested the wound with a tentative poke.

It felt normal. Both on the outside and the inside. Brows furrowing slightly in confusion, Cloud picked himself up slowly before dusting the snow and water droplets that had gathered at the creases and niches of his armour. Even in the cold blizzard, Cloud felt no coldness; something that had changed after his awakening. _Strange. _Spotting his sword that lay next to his right, Cloud gingerly picked up the blade which surprisingly felt lighter than ever. Almost as if he was holding onto nothing but air. Unaccustomed to the new weightlessness of his weapon, Cloud experimentally swung the blade, almost flinging it far way in the process.

Confusion welled up within him. He knew that he was powerful before, however it seemed as if the confrontation with Jenova made him stronger than ever.

Spotting something dark and moving at the edge of his left eye, Cloud hastily turned around, sword at the ready; prepared for battle. There was a faint rustling sound.

He was met with nothing. Scowling, Cloud whipped around once more, eyes frantically scanning the lines of snow for any signs of an enemy. There was none. Spinning around again, he heard another faint sound of brief flaps. No rustling, therefore the monster had wings. Leather wings.

Decidedly looking up into the air, Cloud was both disappointed and extremely frustrated at only succeeding in sighting the cold, desolate land and glowing night sky. He felt something on his left shoulder blade twitch in annoyance, yet again creating another, frustratingly familiar sound of flapping. It took a while for his deductions to sink in, however when his brain did process the information, Cloud was yet again paralysed.

Heart beating fast, the familiar presence of adrenaline fuelled through his veins yet again. Head turning slowly; in both denial and reluctance, Cloud saw, sprouting from his back was a black, leather wing. It was about a metre long and looked exceptionally frail.

Singular.

Leathery.

_Demonic._

Practically the complete opposite from Sephiroth's dark, angelic wings. Or the ones Angeal and Genesis had harboured, if Zack's memories served him right. And he thought that he was the good guy, only to get a wing like this? Irony at its fucking finest.

He felt rather jealous, as he always adored feathered wings; they reminded him of _angels. Heaven. The promised land. _

Cloud closed his eyes, breathing in and out, clearing his mind before reopening them._ 'This had to be the work of Jenova,' _His mind concluded. The memory was vague at best but he still remembered her successful injection of cells (or something along the lines of) into his body.

Even though he was less than satisfied at his wing; or even housing a wing, for that matter, Cloud felt slightly pleased at the difference of his wing to the three firsts. Although it might be petty, having an isolate 'wing' design made him feel special, and Cloud doesn't even berate himself for such trivial, childish and generally idiotic thoughts.

Looking at the extra appendage with disdain, Cloud carefully and gently traced the outer edges of the soft leather-like material with the fingertips of his left hand. A comfortable, tingling sensation ran through his body, generated by the soft contact; bringing goosebumps to rise on both of his arms.

So it was sensitive; extremely so. Pressing ever so slightly, he could feel pulsing vibrations throughout the wing; it was something like an extra organ that seemed to be fragile and therefore easily destroyed. Cloud absolutely hated the idea for such a glaring weakness. If it did not grow stronger soon, and if it would handicap him in battle, he would tear the bat-like wing off himself - regardless of the consequences. Finally getting over the fact that he had sprouted a fucking wing, Cloud kicked tattered parts of his clothing (kudos to the sporadic sprout of his wing) under the snow; a half-assed attempt at hiding his business here.

His motorcycle should be around one kilometre from here and the closest option would be to go through his hometown. It wasn't as if he would care about the amount of attention he would attract, now that he had completed his goal of eliminating Jenova. Placing his sword upon a strap on his back, Cloud soldiered on down the mountain plains.

It was then when he stopped zoning out when he once again realized the smell of smoke and fire; it was all too familiar as flashes of embossed memory that were imprinted in his mind reared out of their comatose shells. He was sure that he was concussed, and yet the memories that were lost came back as clear and threatening as ever. Two episodes in a day, except this one was exceptionally terrible.

Groaning as his vision blurred, Cloud held his right hand to his mouth, forcing down the bile at his throat, which burned all the way down whilst also tasting extremely sour. Feeling dangerously nauseous, Cloud pushed his head against the snow, arms curling around his body, attempting to stay as still as possible. Pieces of broken memories ran through his mind, flowing and cascading upon him; a thunderous waterfall of thoughts, emotions, memories and senses.

_ There was fire. _

_So much fire. _

_Silver hair. _

_Long Sword. _

_Mother face down, body limp and cold._

_Skin reflecting the cold warmth excluded from the flames._

_Dead._

_Pain. So. Much. PAIN. _

Gasping as he clutched at his head, Cloud let out strangled screams that were both his and not. The calm, comfortable presence of Zack's memories were now a thousand screams of pain and suffering, sacrifices, tears, blood and sweat. He felt delusional; as one would feel with days without sleep. Intrusive, incomplete memories and thoughts burned at his mind, giving him possibly the worst headache to date.

What Cloud didn't notice during the current episode of his were how he stood up unknowingly; legs unconsciously carrying him on, without order from his mind as it was currently occupied, so it was a surprise when a heavily breathing and sweating Cloud happened upon destroyed yet still burning remains of Nibelheim. Eyes widening in disbelief, Cloud all but ignored his exhaustion in exchange for sprinting towards the town, surveying the damage and looking for survivors. Dead bodies were scattered all around, some particularly gruelling scenes of townsmen pierced by fallen wood and infrastructure.

His mind screamed _'JENOVA'_. It was without a doubt her work.

Turning around in a full circle, blue eyes met an all too familiar scene. Swearing aloud repeatedly, Cloud ran towards the direction of where he remembered his mother's worn out house located, only to eye in horror at the sight of his mother impaled by a metal roof lining. The shocked expression of her face was still there; obviously not expecting such a death. Her wide, horrified eyes were still open and it physically pained Cloud to continue to look at her, and yet it hurt more not to.

The despair, grief and pain returned full volume, ravaging at his heart and mind and he suddenly felt tired; so tired, of everything and anything. Of his existence, of this continued game. Walking up slowly towards the woman's corpse, Cloud collapsed onto his knees next to her before extending out his right hand and gently clicking the eyes shut. He pulled out the piece of metal and wood that had pierced her chest, throwing it angrily towards nothing in particular, creating a loud 'whack' as it collided with another solid object.

Carefully lifting her up, Cloud's wing shielded the him and the body from the onslaught of snow; the organ being surprisingly sturdy. Finding a good, solid ground, Cloud shifted his mother's corpse. Now supporting it with his left hand, before retrieving First Tsurugi from his back and demeaning its glory by digging out a rectangular frame on the ground before he gently lay his mother's body inside. Shuffling the dirt to cover her dead body he pulled out his Time materia, placing it where her head would lay. Slowly and neatly, he wrote upon her grave.

_'For what I couldn't save.'_

He had done all that whilst the salted tears dripped down from his soft, glowing eyes. It did not matter, if people found the grave, or if he was to be hunted down for the guilt of slaughtering a whole town. The fire was anything but natural. Nothing worried him now; not about capture or interrogation. He was strong enough to hold his own. Now, he was nothing but a ghost; remnant of the past.

* * *

When he heard sharp wailing coming from the small, half destroyed house, Cloud's eyes widened to saucers and without a second thought, he leapt from his position to impatiently shove aside the blocks of wood and other random material from his path. When a path was created, he rushed inside, eyes instantaneously focusing on the first and most obvious thing inhabiting the small living room.

There_ he_ lay, crying and nothing but a babe; surrounded and puddling in a pool of glowing Mako. Blond hair, blue eyes; just like a cherub. Yep, that was him alright. Ignoring the sheer absurdity of the situation, Cloud tread softly towards the child (himself), swallowing heavily as he did so. With cautioned movements, he slowly but steadily lowered his arms before dipping them underneath baby Cloud, disregarding the glowing green liquids around him. Using the cloth of his left arm's shirt, he carefully wiped as much of the substance off of the child. Then he calmly ripped the whole sleeve of his left arm off, ignoring the small protest and exclamation from younger cloud, and winding the cloth around him. There was no way that he would let himself die to the cold, of all things.

That said, now he had a child in tow. Cloud pondered at the new possibilities grimly, lips in a firm line before he left the destroyed house and walked in the direction of his haphazardly parked motorcycle. His left wing hovered protectively above and around the babe in his arms, both providing warmth and protection from the cold._ 'At least it was of some use'_, he dully noted.

* * *

**Notes: **Ask questions, if you will. There is no guarantee, though, as to if I would answer them because it may be vital to the plot of this story. Anything that involves Cloud too much into the plot will be taken into account, however will be left unanswered if too intrusive.

I will provide concept art for Cloud's wings when the time comes.


End file.
